Panther girls control Fillies early
Frank nets 21 in 54-31 victory
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| Creston's Natalie Mostek takes the ball upcourt on a fast break, chased by Breanna Allely of Shenandoah (21), Mostek had 14 points, five steals and eight rebounds in the Panthers' 54-31 victory. (CNA photo by LARRY PETERSON) |
Creston junior post player Zaidy Frank had a career night in Creston’s most impressive victory of the season Friday.
Shenandoah came to the Panther gym in a third-place tie in the Hawkeye 10 at 5-2, and 9-5 overall.
Creston stormed out to an 11-3 lead, Shenandoah then closed it to 13-7, and then misfortune hit the Fillies. Sydney Nielsen, Shenandoah’s second-leading scorer (10.5 average) and rebounder, went down with an ankle injury for the rest of the game.
Shenandoah never seriously threatened again, falling behind 32-14 at halftime in a 54-31 loss to the Panthers.
Frank, a 5-4 post player with a quick first step and relentless rebounding effort, easily surpassed her 7.1 scoring average with 13 points in the first half and 21 for the game.
Parker contained
Meanwhile, senior post player Brianna Maitlen, not much bigger at 5-7, drew the defensive assignment on Serena Parker, a physical 6-footer averaging 15 points a game.
With Maitlen denying entry passes, and relying on backside defensive help, Parker managed 11 points in the 24-point loss.
“Coach says we (Maitlen and Frank) have quicker feet than a lot of post players,” Maitlen said. “We can get around them a lot faster to front them, and box them out. Zaidy had an awesome game.”
After singing the pregame national anthem, sophomore guard Brenna Baker connected on the first and last baskets of the opening quarter, which ended 15-7 in Creston’s favor. Frank and Maitlen were already setting the tone of quick moves to the basket and quick releases against the taller Fillies.
Natalie Mostek, meanwhile, was shooting in rhythm and finished with 14 points on seven field goals. She also managed the driving threat of Shenandoah lefty guard Breanna Allely.
“We did a good job defensively,” Creston coach Larry McNutt said. “We made them dribble with their weak hands. We gave good weakside help a majority of the time, and we rebounded the ball. Some of our success was due to our ball pressure. Their lob passes from the guards were going a lot deeper than they wanted. Parker was catching it under the basket, and that’s a tough shot.”
Maitlen said the team came out determined to make up for a disappointing loss to Glenwood Tuesday, after Monday’s strong victory over Osceola Clarke.
“We came out fired up and ready to play,” Maitlen said. “They had two good players. Unfortunately, their second-best player got hurt. We knew to shut down Parker and front her. We got off to a great start and got into their heads.”
“Losing Nielsen really hurt them,” McNutt said. “You’d like to beat them with their best players. We were still playing well when she was in there, but I don’t know that we would have jumped out to a 20-point lead at halftime.”
Bench support
When Shenandoah struggled to get bench production after Nielsen’s injury, Creston’s reserve corps of Emma Johnson, Olivia Nielsen, Jenna Taylor and Camryn Somers all provided contributions as Frank, Maitlen and Baker all picked up their fourth foul.
“There was a stretch there for about four minutes where we played a couple freshmen, and used our bench big-time, and they never really made a run on us,” McNutt said.
Aiding the Panthers’ cause was Shenandoah’s struggles at the free throw line (7-of-20).
Creston improved to 5-12 overall and 2-8 in Hawkeye 10 play. The Panthers are idle until traveling to Denison Friday. Denison-Schleswig lost to Lewis Central Friday, 43-23, falling to 8-7 overall and 3-5 in the league. Shenandoah is now tied with Kuemper for fourth at 5-3.
“I told the girls Shenandoah beat Denison, and we can beat them, too,” McNutt said. “We have to come out and play hard like we did tonight.”
SHENANDOAH (31) — Serena Parker 3 5-11 11, Breanna Allely 5 1-5 11, Jamie Runyon 3 1-2 7, Sydney Nielsen 1 0-0 2. Totals — 12 7-20 31. FG shooting — 12-42 (28.6 percent). 3-point goals — 0-5). Steals — 12. Rebounds — 20. Turnovers — 20. Team fouls — 11. Fouled out — none.
CRESTON (54) — Zaidy Frank 10 1-2 21, Natalie Mostek 7 0-1 14, Brianna Maitlen 4 1-2 9, Chelcee Downing 2 0-0 5, Brenna Baker 2 0-0 4, Emma Johnson 0 1-2 1. Totals — 25 3-7 54. FG shooting — 25-49 (51 percent). 3-point goals — 1-6 (Downing 1). Rebounds — 30 (N. Mostek 8, Frank 6, Maitlen 5). Assists — 9 (Downing 5, N. Mostek 2). Steals — 14 (N. Mostek 5, Maitlen 4). Blocked shots — 2 (N. Mostek 2). Turnovers — 19. Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — Name.
Glenwood — 8 17 25 37
Creston — 5 15 33 39
JUNIOR VARSITY
Creston’s junior varsity stormed to a 26-4 halftime lead and cruised to a 46-17 victory over Shenandoah Friday.
“Jenna Taylor had a good game with 21 points, and Alli Thomsen had six assists,” said Creston coach Mallory Peterson. “Our guards saw the floor well and got the ball inside. We still had too many turnovers in transition, though.”
Creston (46) — Jenna Taylor 21, Olivia Nielsen 10, Maria Mostek 6, Sadie Jones 4, Brooke Thelen 2, Alli Thomsen 2, Camryn Somers 1. 3-point goals — None. Free throws — 4-5. Rebounds — Somers 5, Mostek 4. Steals — Taylor 3, Thelen 2, Jones 2, Somers 2. Assists — Thomsen 6, Jones 3, Mostek 2. Blocks — Taylor 2, Taylor Briley 1. Team fouls — 14. Halftime score — Creston 26, Shenandoah 4.
Shenandoah (17) — Jasmine Woolery 5, Kaylee Birt 4, Hannah Dailey 4, Kensila Saner 3, Jordyn Lembrick 1. 3-point goals — None. Free throws — 3-9. Team fouls — 7.
